Greening the city – IAAC

THE SELF-SUFFICIENT CITY: Envisioning the habitat of the future was a recent open competition from IAAC(Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia). We have subsequently been invited to submit work for their upcoming book and a 1 minute film as part of expo in CCCB. Below are the 3 A3 panels we submitted, click on each panel to view in PDF. Underrneath is a summary of the ideas examined. Our proposal was entitled:

Towards a healthier, happier, eco-effective Barcelona.

Greening the city, connecting communities, C2C city

PANEL 1 (1,76 MB)

PANEL 2 (1,06 MB)

PANEL 3 (2,98 MB)

150 word Summary –

Greening the city, connecting communities, C2C Barcelona

Create urban greenway / CPUL mesh

Develop more bikeways/ walkways to easily connect from within city centre to nature: rivers, sea, surrounding hills. Allow all abandoned spaces to become indefinite temporary gardens. Specify strategic zones as permanent community gardens, including within all existing public parks and schools. Connect these nodes by greenways. Turn greenways into CPULS (Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes), Plant fruit and nut trees, berry hedges, diverse vegetation, food. These bio threads allow nature into the city; butterflies, song birds, pollen. Use city roofspace(s) as one vast CPUL, solar energy harvest, water collection zone and new Public Park. As private car use diminishes turn old “car lanes” into “food lanes”. Create mixed use clusters around gardens, part of the urban fabric: play area, sport complex, café. Make spaces experimental, adaptable and open to everyone. Let all life adapt and grow.

great job and great vision. What I like the most about it is the fact that it doesnt suggest anything technological to get more sustainable cities, rather just bike&garden. That’s the future we should be planning for. However, there isnt much to sell if we try to apply this idea, and therefore proposals like “replacing fuel cars with elctric cars” or “coating all roofs with photovoltaic panels so we can even get enough energy to desalinate water” tend to be promoted. It’s crucial that some people are making more realistic plans so the general public can turn to them when the time comes that they have no other option.